Chemistry PhD - AI Model Evaluation at Mercor

Chemistry PhD Expert | $73.29/hr | Worldwide Remote

Join Mercor in shaping the future of conversational AI systems by applying your chemistry expertise to evaluate and improve how AI models reason about, explain, and communicate chemical concepts across foundational and advanced topics.

Why This Role Exists

Mercor partners with leading AI teams to enhance the quality, usefulness, and reliability of general-purpose conversational AI systems. In chemistry contexts, these systems must demonstrate accurate mechanistic reasoning, quantitative precision, and strong understanding of chemical principles. Your expertise will directly impact how AI systems handle chemistry-related queries in everyday and professional scenarios.

What You'll Do

• Write and refine prompts to guide model behavior in chemistry contexts
• Evaluate LLM-generated responses for scientific accuracy, mechanistic correctness, and quantitative reasoning
• Conduct fact-checking using authoritative public sources and domain knowledge
• Annotate model responses by identifying strengths, areas of improvement, and factual or conceptual inaccuracies
• Assess clarity, structure, and appropriateness of explanations for different audiences
• Ensure model responses align with expected conversational behavior and system guidelines
• Apply consistent evaluation standards by following clear taxonomies, benchmarks, and detailed evaluation guidelines

Required Qualifications

• PhD in Chemistry or a closely related field
• Deep expertise in one or more sub-domains: Organic & Biological Chemistry, Inorganic & Materials Chemistry, Physical & Theoretical Chemistry, or Analytical & Instrumental Chemistry
• Significant experience using large language models (LLMs) and understanding of their practical applications
• Excellent writing skills with ability to clearly explain complex chemistry concepts
• Strong attention to detail and ability to identify subtle issues
• Experience reviewing or editing technical or academic writing
• Fluent English language skills

Nice-to-Have Specialties

• Prior experience with RLHF, model evaluation, or data annotation work
• Experience teaching, mentoring, or explaining chemistry concepts to non-expert audiences
• Familiarity with evaluation rubrics, benchmarks, or structured review frameworks

What Success Looks Like

• Identify inaccuracies or weak reasoning in chemistry-related model outputs
• Deliver feedback that improves the rigor, clarity, and correctness of AI explanations
• Produce consistent, reproducible evaluation artifacts that strengthen model performance
• Contribute to building AI systems that users trust in chemistry contexts

Why Join Mercor

Apply your PhD-level chemistry expertise beyond traditional academic or industry roles by directly shaping how advanced AI systems reason about and explain chemical concepts. This high-impact role offers autonomy over your schedule while contributing to cutting-edge AI development.